AUTONEWS

US bans Chinese tyres from company in Serbia over forced labour claims

The United States on Thursday banned the import of car tyres made in Zrenjanin in Serbia by China’s Shandong Linglong Tire Co owing to suspicions that the company has used forced labour.

According to a US Customs and Border Protection press release, a ‘withhold release’ order was issued against tyres made in Zrenjanin, which means that it will detain shipments of these tyres “due to evidence reasonably indicating the use of forced labour in their production.

“The message is clear – the United States will not tolerate forced labour in supply chains,” Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott is quoted as saying in the press release.

Acting assistant commissioner Susan Thomas of the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade said in the same press release that “by preventing forced-labour goods from entering US commerce, CBP helps ensure American workers and businesses compete on a level playing field”.

In cooperation with the anti-trafficking organisation ASTRA and the Serbia-based Initiative for Economic and Social Rights, A11, BIRN has reported extensively since 2021 on the exploitation of Vietnamese and Indian workers at the Linglong site in Serbia, which is key to the Chinese company’s European ambitions.

The allegations included a raft of Labour Law violations, the confiscation of passports and cramped, dirty and unsanitary accommodation. Linglong has denied any wrongdoing.

CBP said that its order is a result of its own investigations into the use of forced labour in Linglong tyre production. It said it had analysed “worker statements, photographs, employment contracts, focus group field notes, text message screenshots, open-source non-government organisation reports, news media, and academic research.”

“Taken together, the evidence demonstrated that workers at Linglong are subject to nine International Labour Organization indicators of forced labour: retention of identity documents, intimidation and threats, isolation, excessive overtime, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive living and working conditions, deception, and abuse of vulnerability,” CBP said.

“The facts underlying these indicators show, by reasonable suspicion, that workers are engaged in forced labour (i.e., work performed involuntarily and under menace of penalty),” it added.

Serbia has also faced calls from the European Parliament and United Nations human rights rapporteurs to investigate allegations of exploitation.

Last December, the VW-Owned MAN Truck & Bus said it had stopped taking tyres from Linglong after reports alleging labour exploitation.

Construction of the Linglong factory began in 2019 as one of a number of Chinese projects in Serbia that have made the country a Balkan hub for Chinese investment.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has decided to suspend the import of tires manufactured by Linglong, a company with a factory in Zrenjanin, Serbia. The measure, announced late last week, includes the seizure of all shipments of these tires at U.S. ports.

The decision was based on an investigation that pointed to suspected forced labor at the Linglong factory. The analysis included worker testimonies, documents, photos, reports from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), press articles, and academic studies that revealed inadequate and abusive working conditions at the facility.

CBP highlighted that the evidence suggests practices such as withholding employee identification documents, threats, social isolation, excessive working hours, non-payment of wages, debt bondage, and exploitation of workers' vulnerability. These issues raise serious concerns about the ethics of production.

Rodney S. Scott, CBP Commissioner, emphasized that the United States will not accept forced labor in its supply chains and that this action is a clear response to this situation.

Linglong Tire, a Chinese company, began mass production of tires in Serbia in September 2024. This is the brand's first factory in Europe, and the suspension could affect its expansion plans and international reputation. The situation is part of a broader context in which the presence of Chinese industries in Serbia and their labor practices generate debates and concerns about human rights and labor regulations.

In 2021 and 2022, RFE/RL's Balkan Service documented overcrowded dormitories, food served on the floor, and claims that wages were months in arrears and passports had been seized. Linglong denied responsibility, insisting that the workers were employed by subcontractors, and Serbian authorities effectively shut reporters out of the camp.

The case was later verbally declared closed by the government’s anti-trafficking center, which said it had been unable to communicate with the workers before they left the country.

This pattern repeated itself with a subsequent complaint on behalf of Buks and 10 other Indian men, alleging human trafficking and labor exploitation.

The men said their passports had been taken and their pay withheld. They also said that they were not only sent to the tire plant construction site but also to other building projects around Serbia, even as Linglong claimed they had never worked for the company.

Prosecutors in Zrenjanin said they had asked police to gather information; the Serbian Interior Ministry has yet to say what, if anything, that investigation found.

Linglong again rejected the accusations, asserting that the Indians had not worked on its factory. According to Mitic, the men eventually received back pay and compensation, plus travel tickets home, but no official findings have ever been published.

Details of the action:

Reason: The CBP investigation, based on worker testimonies, documents, and NGO reports, found evidence of abusive labor practices, such as withholding identification documents, intimidation, debt bondage, and non-payment of wages at the Zrenjanin plant in Serbia.

Objective: The measure aims to ensure that the United States does not tolerate forced labor in its global supply chains.

Impact: The suspension affects tires produced at the Serbian factory, which began mass production in September 2024 and is the first of the Chinese brand in Europe.

Broader context: This action is part of a context of stricter U.S. trade policies, which also imposed tariffs on other Brazilian and global products in 2025 and 2026, causing concern in various industries. Linglong Tire denied the accusations, and Serbian authorities also refuted the allegations, which had already been the subject of reports from civil organizations and the European Parliament previously.